The Vetriots.
The History The Vetriots were a group of users originating on GameFAQs. In the year 2004, Jerel Smith (Genji Masamune), Walter Werner (Walt3210''TheGreatEllipsis''), Grant Dempsey (Ultima1) and Bobby (LionHart627) formed a unique bond in the time leading up to the release of Metal Gear Solid 3. Their friendship continued after the game came out, with all four finding themselves disappointed. As time moved on, so too did they, to the Metal Gear Solid 4 GameFAQs board. Their bonding time (circle jerks) was usually spent in AIM chatrooms of various names and over the course of 2005 and 2006, new permanent additions were made to the group, featuring Scott Michaels (OnslaughtX), Edward Kang (AuFox80/infoman80) and Edwin Lewis (AC Kid). Non-permanent additions came in the forms of Gotmilk (Klimtog) and Jason Katz (StealthHit), and beyond that, many people consider other popular users of the time to be members, such as PlatinumAssassin, Turducken, Beretta/RosesNRevolvers, SamuraiX, solid5n4ke and the always curious tonic. GenyaArikado was always present, as well, and referred to himself as a "Vetriot Agent." There was also James Elrick (ChrisR07), who was there in the beginning but then quickly drifted off into obscurity before he could do anything of note. The group's primary purpose was to work together to help the board, answering questions where they were asked, participating in discussions on some of the more thematic elements of the series and educating newer users who were less familiar with the series. Even early on, though, the group was criticized heavily for a variety of things, including being elitist, the use of in-jokes that spawned from their chat sessions and instant messages and many were accused of being two-faced, acting one way on the board and another in their AIM moments. In 2005, after Metal Gear Solid 4 was announced, Bobstat created a FAQ for the MGS4 board, detailing important information from previous games in the series and what was known about Metal Gear Solid 4 at the time. It went through several incarnations -- due to new information being released and the lack of a sticky at the time -- before finally dying. In the early months of 2006, the Killer 7 (Jerel, Bobstat, Scott, Grant, Edward and Edwin) was formed and went to work on revamping the board FAQ completely. It was going to be huge, cover everything that needed to be known and each of the prominent members would write a part of it. Although originally scheduled to be released shortly after E3 2006 in May, the board FAQ went through many delays and wasn't posted until November 2006. The Band Breaks Up The group seemed stronger than ever as 2006 fell to the past, but 2007 would bring chaos and drama. Dissention began to form within the ranks. Jerel disappeared, as did Walter. Scott and Edward began to become more displeased with Bobstat's abrasive manner and Grant began to distance himself from the internet in general. It was around this time that Edwin was banned from GameFAQs. Things came to a head in mid 2007. Most of the Vetriots had been members of the Guns Of The Patriots message board, created by RosesNRevolvers. Lestat and Edward (along with Jason) were admins at the time. According to reports from the parties involved, one day Jason -- being Jewish -- felt offended by anti-semitic statements made by Edward, and so banned him. Later on, feeling guilty, he unbanned him and banned himself. Not long after that, Edward's account wasn't just banned, it was deleted from the board entirely. Edward put the blame on Bobstat, as things had been escalating between them lately, though according to Bobstat's claims (which were supported by three other people), he was at work when the account was deleted. No one knows what really happened. Some have speculated Edward's growing bitterness caused him to delete himself and divert the blame. Others insist that it was Bobstat who deleted him. Still, others say that Jason wasn't banned at the time and could have done it himself. While the truth will never be known on the matter, this action marked the decisive end of the Vetriots. Jerel and Grant made infrequent appearances after that and Edwin returned with a new name, but the group was torn apart. Where Are They Now? *Edwin still posts frequently on the GameFAQs MGS4 message board. *Scott now works at Insomniac Games. *Jerel formed a freelance translation company with James Howell (once known on GameFAQs as ShockleyHaynes) and someone else that I'm not sure if they'd be okay with me saying here. They've done a lot of work for Kojima Productions. *Grant is in college and occasionally posts on GameFAQs. *Walter has disappeared, almost literally dropping off the face of the Earth. *Edward's whereabouts are unknown. *Bobstat retired in early 2009, he now spends his time writing a bitchy blog and hating California weather. *James now works in the video game industry, working at 2K Games, Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, and Respawn Entertainment.